THE THIRD SUMMER 699 



continued, and in the course of the forenoon we finally suc- 

 ceeded in getting through. During the rest of the day we 

 also made some headway to the south until the ice became 

 impassable, and we were compelled to make fast at 10 P.M., 

 having made about 2 miles. 



On account of the fog we were unable to take any ob- 

 servation until the 9th, when we found ourselves in 81° 48' 

 north latitude, the last latitude observation we made in the 

 drift-ice. 



On Tuesday, the nth, we again proceeded southward by dint 

 of arduous labor in clearing floes and brash, which often blocked 

 our way. At 7.30 P.M. we had to make fast in a narrow strait, 

 until, in the course of the night, we cleared the obstacles away 

 and were able to proceed to the southwest. Progress was, how- 

 ever, slow, and on the morning of August 12th we were stopped 

 by a very awkward floe. We tried to blast it away, but while we 

 were at work on this the ice tightened up quickly, and left the 

 vessel imprisoned between two big floes. In the course of a 

 couple of hours it slackened again in a S.W. direction, and we 

 steamed off in comparatively fair channels until 12.30 P.M., 

 when a floe stopped our farther progress. We had made 9-^ 

 miles in about five hours this forenoon. Some thin ice now ap- 

 peared, and from the crow's-nest we could see, when the fog 

 cleared off a little for a few moments, several large channels run- 

 ning in a southerly direction both east and west of our position. 

 Besides, we noticed an increase in the number of birds and small 

 seals, and we also saw an occasional bearded seal — all evidences 

 that we could not be very far from the open water. 



Between 3 and 4 P.M. we were released from the floes which 

 had held us enclosed, and at 5.30 P.M. we steamed off in a S.E. 

 direction through steadily improving ice. The ice now became 

 noticeably thin and brittle, so that we were able to force the 

 smaller floes. From 5.30 P.M. till midnight we advanced about 

 16 miles; the engine was used as compound during the last 

 watch. 



After midnight on August 13th we steered S. W., then S. and 

 S.E., the ice continuing to grow slacker. At 3 o'clock we sighted 



